Bag closure apparatus



Aug. 16, 1966 I J. E. SONG 3,266,711

BAG CLOSURE APPARATUS Filed May 17, 1965 2!; 22 2y I [511:3 inf-1:25:1

fizz/622101.

izuze @502 1c United States Patent 3,266,711 BAG CLOSURE APPARATUS June E. Song, 117 N. Lincoln Ave., Addison, Ill. Filed May 17, 1965, Ser. No. 456,429 6 Claims. (Cl. 22962) The present invention relates to an apparatus for use in closing bags and the following disclosure thereof is offered for public dissemination upon the grant of a patent therefor.

Many food products today are packaged in bags of cellophane, plastic, wax paper, or the like. Probably in the majority of instances, the purchaser does not remove all of the contents at one time. Instead, the bag is put away after removing a portion of the contents. Unless the bag is tightly closed when it is put away, many such items deteriorate as a result of being exposed to ambient air conditions. The present invention is intended for use in providing a closure for bags to tightly reseal them after they have once been used. While it is contemplated that the principal use of the present invention will be with bags of relatively thin material such as are used for the packaging of food products, the use of the invention is not so limited. It could be employed equally advantageously with large bags of relatively heavy materials such as are used with the packaging of fertilizers, chemicals, and the like, which are deleteriously affected by ambient air conditions.

While the general problem solved by the present invention has been previously recognized, the existing devices for closing bags have a number of disadvantages that are eliminated or overcome by the present invention. In the first place, the devices of the present invention are very inexpensive to manufacture. They may be formed of plastic from extrusions or by injection molding in large quantities. They are not deleteriously affected by the wear that occurs during use or otherwise. They are extremely simple to use. In use, they provide a secure fluid-tight seal at the mouth of the bag and assist in preventing damage to the bag, such as sometimes occurs as a result of tearing, punctures, and the like. The full surface contact provided by embodiments of the invention ensure a tight and reliable seal with moderate compression.

Further objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of the two components of an embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE '2 is a perspective view showing the manner in which the interfitting of the two members is obtained in the course of closing the mouth of a bag;

FIGURE 3 is a transverse section showing a bag closed 'by the members; and

FIGURE 4 is an elevational view showing an alternative embodiment.

Although the following disclosure offered for public dissemination is detailed to ensure adequacy and aid understanding, this is not intended to prejudice that purpose of a patent which is to cover each new inventive concept therein no matter how others may later disguise it by variations in form or additions or further improvements. The claims at the end hereof are intended as the chief aid toward this purpose; as it is these that meet the requirement of pointing out the parts, improvements or combinations in which the inventive concepts are found.

Basically, the embodiments of the present invention consist of a male member, generally 10, and a female member, generally 11. The male member is generally cylindrical in configuration. While it may be solid, I

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prefer that it be annular in cross section, i.e. in the form of a tube, as best seen in FIGURE 3. The female member 11 also is substantially cylindrical except for a slot 12 extending the length thereof. The external diameter of the male member is substantially equal to the internal diameter of the female member for bags of plastic film or the like. For a heavy, multiple ply, bag, the difference in diameters would be less than twice the material thickness.

The walls, which form the female member 11 and define the slot 12, extend substantially more than onehalf the circumference of a circle as the member is viewed in cross section (see FIGURE 3). While these walls could come practically together were the material from which the female member 11 is formed sufiiciently resilient to permit the insertion and removal of the male member, I prefer that they not do so. It is better to have the female member of a material that is somewhat less resilient and to have the slot 12 occupy only about one-fourth of the circumference of the circle defined by the walls of the female member.

The Walls of the female member are chamfered at the ends as seen at 13. This greatly facilitates the insertion and removal of the male member. In effect, the slot 12 widens at the chamfered end 13 so that at that point it is relatively easy to push the male member between the Walls of the female member. When closing a bag (as seen in FIGURE 2), the chamfer at the left end facilitates starting the operation. When fully closed, the handle means of the male member extends beyond the right end; thus, the chamfer at the right end facilitates the opening operation.

Preferably, the members 10 and 11 are formed of a plastic. While they need not be of the same plastic, the manufacture is simplified in most instances by using a single material. The plastic for the female member particularly should not be completely rigid or brittle, but should have sufficient plasticizer so that it is resiliently deformable to accommodate the insertion and removal of the male member.

The manner in which the invention is employed in the sealing of the mouth of a bag is best illustrated in FIGURES 2 and 3. At one of the chamfered ends 13, an end of the male member is readily pushed between the walls of the female member. With the bag 15 closed and laid across slot 12, the male member now is pushed through the slot, in the fashion of the closing of a pair of scissors across the mouth of the bag. As the male member moves into the slot, it cams the walls open immediately ahead of it and, at the same time, pushes the bag into the recess defined by the interior of the female member. Thus, when the male member 10 has been fully pushed through the slot and is seated in the interior of the female member, the bag 15 is wrapped about the male member 10, as best seen in FIGURE 3.

To separate the two members and thus release the bag, the reverse procedure is employed. By holding the female member and grasping one end of the male member, that end is pulled outwardly (substantially at right angles to the axis of the female member). To facilitate grasping the male member, it is made somewhat longer than the female member, as best seen in FIGURE 1. This excess length of the male member forms a handle means to permit it to be grasped. Commencing from the end at which the members are grasped, the male member cams the walls of the female member apart. This is facilitated by the chamfer on the end. After the two members return to approximately the FIGURE 2 position, they separate completely and the bag 15 is released.

In the embodiment of FIGURE 4, there is a female member, generally 20, having a slot with chamfered ends 21. The male member, generally 22, is generally cylindrical, but with a slot 23 along the back side. To provide the male member with sufficient rigidity against crushing, it has a plurality of transverse ribs 24. A cross sectional view of member 20 would be substantially the same as that of member 11, as seen in FIGURE 3. A cross sectional view of member 22 would be the same as that of member in FIGURE 3 except for a slot along the exterior side thereof and the internal reinforcing ribs.

Members 20 and 22 are provided with a link or hinge 26 formed of the same material of which the two members are formed. Member 20 has a handle 27 while member 22 has a handle 28. A tab 29 with a hole 30 therethrough is provided to enable the apparatus to be hung on a hook, nail, or the like. This tab is located midway between the ends of the female member. The members 20 and 22 would be closed and opened about a bag in the same manner as described in connection with FIGURES 2 and 3.

In use the bag closing apparatus of the invention will be clamped across the bag adjacent the mouth of the bag when the bag is full. As the bag is emptied, the apparatus will be reapplied adjacent the contents and thus farther from the mouth. This reduces the ambient air contained within the package.

I claim:

1. A closure device for bags of a material of a given thickness, said device comprising: an elongated, cylindrical male member extending transversely across said bag at the mouth thereof with a portion of the material being wrapped partially around said member, and an elongated female member overlying said portion of said material and pressing it between the members, said female member having a wall of generally cylindrical configuration with an internal diameter greater than the external diameter of the male member by an amount less than twice said material thickness, said walls defining a slot extending the length of one side of the female member, said slot being a gap in the otherwise cylindrical walls and being substantially smaller than one-half the circumference of the female member, at one end said walls tapering away from each other progressively from a point adjacent the end to the end to increase the width of the slot at said end, said female member being formed of a semi-resilient plastic to permit said walls to be spread apart to allow the male member and material to move through said slot to separate the members and to move into the slot to engage the members and serve as a closure for the bag.

2. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said male member has handle means secured thereto.

3. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein both members are of the same plastic material and are connected by a strap of the same material serving as a hinge.

4. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said female member has a hanging tab with an opening therethrough affixed to the female member midway between the ends thereof.

5. An apparatus as set forth in claim 2, wherein at both the ends of the female member said walls t-aper away from each other.

6. A closure device as set forth in claim 1, wherein an end of the male member is connected to an end of the female member by a strap formed of the same material of the members and forming a hinge, one of said members having a handle on the end thereof opposite said one end, said handle extending outwardly at about right angles to said one end.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,338,927 1/1944 Gerendas 229 2,601,568 6/1952 Sussenbach et al 229-65 2,852,054 9/1958 Motley 215--99 JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner.

R. PRESHOCK, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A CLOSURE DEVICE FOR BAGS OF A MATERIAL OF A GIVEN THICKNESS, SAID DEVICE COMPRISING: AN ELONGATED, CYLINDRICAL MALE MEMBER EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY ACROSS SAID BAG AT THE MOUNTH THEREOF WITH A PORTION OF THE MATERIAL BEING WRAPPED PARTIALLY AROUND SAID MEMBER, AND AN ELONGATED FEMALE MEMBER OVERLYING SAID PORTION OF SAID MATERIAL AND PRESSING IT BETWEEN THE MEMBERS, SAID FEMALE MEMBER HAVING A WALL OF GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL CONFIGURATION WITH AN INTERNAL DIAMETER GREATER THAN THE EXTERNAL DIAMETER OF THE MALE MEMBER BY AN AMOUNT LESS THAN TWICE SAID MATERIAL THICKNESS, SAID WALLS DEFINING A SLOT EXTENDING THE LENGTH OF ONE SIDE OF THE FEMALE MEMBER, SAID SLOT BEING A GAP IN THE OTHERWISE CYLINDRICAL WALLS AND BEING SUBSTANTIALLY SMALLER THAN ONE-HALF THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF THE FEMALE MEMBER, AT ONE END SAID WALLS TAPERING AWAY FROM EACH OTHER PROGRESSIVELY FROM A POINT ADJACENT THE END TO THE END TO INCREASE THE WIDTH OF THE SLOT AT SAID END TO FEMALE MEMBER BEING FORMED OF A SEM-RESILIENT PLASTIC TO PERMIT SAID WALLS TO BE SPREAD APART TO ALLOW THE MALE MEMBER AND MATERIAL TO MOVE THROUHG SAID SLOT TO SEPARATE THE MEMBERS AND TO MOVE INTO THE SLOT TO ENGAGE THE MEMBERS AND SERVE AS A CLOSURE FOR THE BAG. 